Riau youngsters burn cars for not being given jobs

A group of unemployed youngsters burned on Wednesday a car owned by a contractor of PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Duri, the third largest town in Riau province after Pekanbaru and Dumai in their protests against the oil giant's refusal to hire them.

Media Indonesia reported on Thursday that the driver and passengers were forced to get out of the car before the angry young men brutally burned the vehicle in the town's main street of Simpang Berago on Wednesday afternoon.

Djati Susetya, the spokesman for the oil giant's Duri operation, said that the car, which was owned by one of the company's contractors, was the latest series of car burnings carried out by the youngsters since Tuesday.

Some 30 young men came to the Caltex office in Duri on Tuesday asking for jobs in the company, which operates massive oil exploration and production activities in the province. The young men got angry and turn violent after the company politely rejected their demand. They then stopped all vehicles carrying Caltex name, and forced the drivers and passengers to get out of their cars before setting the vehicles on fire.

Djati said that at least four buses carrying Caltex name had been burned by the youngsters since Tuesday.

Newspapers also reported that the security officials clashed with protesting residents in Dumai, a major oil town located near Duri on Sunday. Four of the residents were hit by bullets when the security officials made warnings shots to disperse the protests.

The local police said late Wednesday that the situation in the oil town, which was hit by massive demonstration early this week following the shooting of four protesting residents by the security officials, has been fully under control. (*)